The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will, in 2027, focus coordination of national oversight of crypto-assets under MiCA on operational resilience, outsourcing, and ensuring sufficient presence of companies within the bloc. The regulator's focus has shifted "from rulemaking to supervision and convergence," ESMA Chair Verena Ross said at a meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

Priorities: CASP Resilience, Outsourcing, Liquidity, and Reverse Solicitation

In its 2027 work program, ESMA outlined plans to strengthen oversight coordination for crypto-asset service providers (CASP). Key areas include operational resilience, outsourcing risks, liquidity, reverse solicitation, asset classification, and maintaining adequate operations within the EU.

Unified Reporting and Common Risk Indicators for Regulators

ESMA intends to harmonize periodic reporting by CASPs to national supervisory authorities and promote unified risk indicators and supervisory dashboards to ensure data and practice comparability across the bloc.

MIDAS: First Phase Fully Operational in 2027

The regulator will continue developing MIDAS, a centralized crypto market monitoring system designed to detect potential manipulation under MiCA. The first phase is expected to be fully operational in 2027. Earlier, in February, ESMA disclosed plans for the second phase; according to the work program, it will add analytical functions and expand the data set, with a launch targeted for the fourth quarter pending board approval.

Preparation for MiCA Review by the European Commission by June 2027

ESMA plans to contribute its supervisory experience to the MiCA review scheduled by the European Commission for June 2027 and to prepare for potential subsequent legislative initiatives.